* German authorities reject 34 codeshare flights
* Codesharing brings Air Berlin, Etihad 200 mln eur revenue
* Air Berlin says to take legal steps (Adds detail on traffic agreement between countries)
(Reuters) – Germany is blocking Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad from selling tickets for some flights operated by partner Air Berlin, meaning the German airline could lose out on passengers it needs to fight its way back to profit.
Air Berlin, in which Etihad owns a 29 percent stake, said on Friday that 34 so-called codeshare flights with Etihad for its winter schedule had failed to win the approval of the German federal aviation authority (LBA), despite having been cleared in the past. The flights account for around 46,000 bookings.
Etihad and Air Berlin have in the past shared codes on flights to around 60 destinations, meaning their number of shared flights will more than halve.
By putting its number on the German airline’s flights, Etihad can sell those connections to its customers and thus help loss-making Air Berlin to fill its planes.
Etihad is under investigation by German authorities over whether it exercises too much control over Air Berlin. For Air Berlin to maintain its European operating licence, it must be majority controlled by European investors.
The LBA checks codeshare deals every time airlines submit winter and summer schedules for flights to and from Germany.
A spokesman for the transport ministry said the 34 codeshare requests were rejected based on the traffic rights agreement that exists between the Germany and the United Arab Emirates.
Under that agreement, UAE-based airlines may operate flights and codeshare services to four airports in Germany — Frankfurt, Duesseldorf, Munich and Hamburg — and they may operate codeshare services from those four airports to Berlin, Stuttgart and Nuremburg.
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